With the ever increasing performance of electronic devices, the demand for higher density components such as the connectors has likewise increased. Conventional cable connectors typically included an array comprising one-row of ground contacts and an adjacent row of signal contacts. Increased demand for higher densities required that these ground and signal contacts be arranged so that they were located closer to one another which resulted in an increase in crosstalk in the connector. Several alternative arrangements have been developed over the years to address those needs including alternating signal and ground contacts in a linear array which improve cross-talk performance but reduce the signal density of the connector.
Other connector designs included incorporating the ground structure within the connector for multiple conductor transmission systems in which the ground structure electrically isolates individual or groups of adjacent electrical contact elements such as that described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,773,878. In this patent, the ground structure takes the form of a shield surrounding the connector housing. U.S. Pat. No. 5,032,089 describes an advanced form of shielded connector suitable for use with coaxial cables. Both of these designs require complicated mating connectors with spring formed contacts to mate with the ground shield.
There is a need to incorporate the spring formed contacts into the ground shield so that the mating connector can be a simple array of pins. There is a need for a design that provides for tighter pin centering densities.